SIT Study Abroad: Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development

I would recommend this program to anyone studying a humanity, but especially to those interested in human rights work and social justice movements. This program connects you to some powerful folks in the community, and you create some meaningful connections with active members in the community working to change one of the many problems facing Chile due to an unfair constitution put into effect during the dictatorship (or maybe working to change the constitution itself). You also get to see the very north of Chile (Arica and Putre) and the south in and around Temuco; during those excursions, we learned about the Aymara (in the north) and the Mapuche (in the south). It is honestly such a crazy experience to be able to see such different ways of life, along with their philosophies in life and what they believe our universe is. If anything, this program is eye-opening and humbling; you get to do some community work as a group up in the hills of Valparaíso, meet incredible human rights activists working towards a better Chile, learn about the country's struggle to reconcile with its past, and above all, immerse yourself in rich, Chilean culture.

This program is for the curious, the ambitious, the motivated, and the wanderers seeking new adventures at every corner.

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Personally, I am half-Chilean, and I went to be able to study my family's experiences with the dictatorship. If you're reading this and also have Chilean roots, PLEASE consider going. Study abroad is often advertised as the student going to an unfamiliar place, but for me it was a chance to understand where I come from and seeing the full side to my family's history. Even if you're just a Latinx student, studying abroad in your own culture is something absolutely surreal, and life-changing for sure. Consider taking this chance to do it.

I had an amazing experience in Valpo, it's an extremely unique city full of open, adventurous people. I had an incredible host family and made great friends through SIT. I highly recommend the program.

The program is essentially broken into 3 parts: Spanish lessons and guest speakers on history and culture in Valparaiso; a long excursion to the Aymara or Mapuche; and then ISP research. In the beginning, the research project seems so intimidating. The program coordinators genuinely care for your well-being, in both the physical and emotional sense. They recognize the difficulty of transitioning to a new environment and go above and beyond to make you feel at home. They know how scary and stressful the research project can be as well. "There is no way I will be prepared for that!" you think. But somehow, you are. After spending so much time practicing Spanish in simply navigating your way around the city (which is SO difficult at first); talking with your host family over meals, endless barbecues, and soccer game celebrations; and interviewing complete strangers for Spanish class (super scary!); you are beyond prepared for the ISP research. The guest speakers that provide lectures and lead seminars are distinguished professors or activists, even a director of a famous documentary. Then these speakers become your ISP advisers. The best part is that your ISP can be literally ANYTHING related to the theme of the program. I went WWOOFing for 11 days! I even got to talk to the director of WWOOF Chile! It was such an amazing experience, and I had the opportunity to put my new training in participant observation and interviews to good use. I learned a tremendous amount about how to relate to people with different backgrounds, ideas, political opinions, cultures, stereotypes, etc... Most importantly I know that what I learned through my study abroad experience, I could never have learned anywhere else.